Actor Matthew Rhys this week described
his Brothers & Sisters gay character as “refreshing.”

The 41-year-old Rhys currently co-stars
on FX's critically acclaimed The Americans.

In the ABC drama Brothers &
Sisters, Rhys played Kevin Walker, a lawyer who struggled with
his romantic relationships with men.

“There was no coming out story.
There was no challenge,” Rhys
told HuffPost Live's Alex Miranda. “He wasn't defined by it or
identified by it. He was one of the siblings who happened to be gay
and [writer Jon Robin Baitz] was so clear about that. And in reading
that, I just thought, 'Oh, how refreshing. That's how it should
be.'”

He added that the show's writers were
very aware of the pioneering role Brothers & Sisters
played for LGBT representation.

“We owe that to the writers and that
they handled that fantastically and they were very conscious of that
and strident in trying to achieve that,” Rhys said. “If I'm a
small cog in that, which I am, I'm very happy.”